The food of immature White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) feeding in meadows in Poland was studied by pellet analysis. The most important food items by numbers were insects, mainly beetles, which constituted 83% of all prey items (N = 5,958 items) and were found in all pellets (N = 163). However, by biomass, 58% of food consisted of small mammals, mainly voles Microtus sp. Insects (22%) and earthworms (11.5%) were secondary resources. Literature on White Stork diet in Europe also showed that voles, insects and earthworms were the dominant food of breeding White Storks. Their roles changed with latitude, habitat, time, as well as method of data analysis. Generally, the diet of non-breeding storks was similar to breeding birds, but more of the prey was obtained in dry habitats.
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Waterbirds
Vol. 25 • No. 4
December 2002
Vol. 25 • No. 4
December 2002
